The Meeting

Blake immediately ducked and ran towards the window. However, the man swung his hands at him. The man's speed had reached an unfathomable level that Blake could only see the blurry outline of the man's hand.

Blake, who was merely a step from jumping through the window, followed his instinct and moved backward instead of jumping out. Behold, a dagger flew past the path he would have taken like a black bolt, destroying a part of the fence outside.

Blake shivered at his narrow graze of death. The man raised his eyebrows, before closing the gap between them with a step. Blake tried to dodge this time, but he wasn't so lucky.

The man clamped his neck, lifting him off the ground, and choked him in midair. The man's grip started tightening bit by bit, making Blake struggle to breathe with his legs flailing in the air. Blake tried to knock the man's hand from his neck, but his hand was unbudging like a steel clamp. His eyes started shutting slowly.

"Let him go, Brad," Scarlett yelled.

Brad, the man who was choking Blake in midair, turned to Scarlett before freeing Blake.

Blake slumped on the ground before he inhaled intensely and loudly, filling his empty lungs.

Scarlett came to Blake's side and started checking how he was doing.

"Who is he?" Brad asked coldly.

"He's somebody I brought," Scarlett said calmly.

"No unauthorized individual, apart from the team, is meant to know about this place," Brad said coldly.

"He's crucial for the mission," Scarlett defended Blake as she stood.

"What can an awaken do in the mission that involves elemental transcendent?" Ethan entered and asked with sarcasm.

Brad, who was believing Scarlett, then noticed the loopholes after Ethan's question.

Scarlett had to take in a deep breath to stop herself from smashing his face. She felt Ethan had started becoming annoying in Blake's presence. Maybe Blake has a smell that disturbs his brain.

"Let's talk in the meeting room," Scarlett said and pulled Blake from the ground.

Blake, who had been listening to their conversation, was looking around stealthily.

'In case things go south, finding the best escape route is the best choice. That's how a pragmatist thinks,' Blake thought.

"If he isn't useful, I will kill him," Brad said coldly before walking into the room. Ethan followed Brad.

Blake choked on his saliva when he heard that. They were talking about his life, like the price of a lamb being negotiated in the market.

"Why did you follow me?" Scarlett asked angrily when Brad and Ethan had gone.

"I saw you going out, and I got curious," Blake said nonchalantly.

"Also, I would rather not do any mission. From that cold Brad and idiotic Ethan words, the mission is not for my level. The chance of me dying is ninety percent," Blake hissed through gritted teeth.

"You don't have a choice. That's the penalty for prying into forbidden issues. Alright, stand up, let's go," Scarlet said with her hands on her waist.

"I'm going to return that choke," Blake said as he stood up.

"Then shut up until that time comes," Scarlett said angrily and walked into the room.

When he entered the room, he saw ten chairs, arranged around a wide, round table. The room was not anything dilapidated, but a new and neat room, which shocked him.

Brad and Ethan were sitting on two chairs. A man with fiery, orange hair, who looked like the older version of the dead younger master, was sitting on one. Lucian was sitting on a chair. Surprisingly, Bob was sitting on one chair, beside Scarlett's chair. The rest, he doesn't care or know them.

"Scarlett, what is the meaning of this?" The man with fiery, orange hair barked and pointed at Blake after Lucian whispered something to him.

"Protector Jasper, Scarlett brought him here because he's useful for the mission. If he's useless, Scarlett won't say a word if you kill him." Ethan beat Scarlett to reply. He made his word sound like a friend speaking out.

However, Jasper, a cunning fox, understood the underlying message, so he gave an evil smirk.

"Give me one good reason why I won't kill this spy," Jasper said coldly.

Scarlett had to inhale deeply, or else she might end up killing Ethan.

"The place we are going, there's going to be a detector for elements. To secretly enter, we might need a person with no elemental association–an awaken. He meets the requirements," Scarlett said calmly, no longer charming.

"It's a crucial mission, so we will need to test him. After all, we can choose other awakens. Lucian could do the testing because he's the least destructive, and he will lower his strength. If Blake fails to last for four seconds after all the leniency, then he's unqualified," Jasper said calmly.

Scarlett was feeling anxious, already noticing Jasper's plan. She turned to Bob, but she noticed that he pretended to be asleep.

The message couldn't be any clearer–don't involve me!

"No need for testing. He already dodged my palm at the entrance," Brad said coldly.

"Brad, this doesn't concern you!" Jasper yelled coldly.

"I'm part of the mission. Moreover, you should be grieving about your son's death," Brad said sarcastically.

Jasper flared up in fury and his body was set ablaze with a searing hot, red flame. He cursed, "You son of a—"

"Say the next word and your head rolls," the man next to Brad said coldly, and the room plunged into a deadly, bone-chilling iciness. Jasper's flame was in a stalemate with the frost emanating from the man. All this while, Bob was sleeping. The contrasting hotness and coldness made Blake feel uncomfortable.

"Is this a civilized meeting, or a gathering between mobs?" Blake whispered to Scarlett.

However, everywhere became eerily silent. When Blake turned around, he found everybody staring at him.

'F**k! They can hear from such a distance even when I'm whispering,' Blake thought, blaming himself for researching only a little about transcendent.

"I mean, hmm…" Blake stuttered and paused with a smile plastered on his face, before saying, "...mob bosses–bosses, I mean."

"Enough! Raymond and Jasper. Let's get the meeting started," Bob pretended to be waking up drowsily, saving Blake from his awkward situation.

"Jasper, any new information?" Raymond, the man with a frightening ice element, asked.

"Yes, but I'm not disclosing anything until you allow Lucian to test this boy. Moreover, he might be a spy," Jasper said coldly.

"He's not a spy. I can guarantee that with my pass. If he turns out to be a spy, you can remove my participation in the mission," Scarlett said, while Ethan's eyes narrowed as he stared at Blake.

"The spy issue is solved, but we need to test his battle prowess. A slight error, and we will lose everything; time, resources, and more," Jasper said defiantly.

"Let Lucian test him. However, he should refrain from using his element," A man, dressed in yellow armor, said. He has been quiet for a while.

A wicked smirk crept onto Jasper's lips. He knew they would give in since Blake is disposable and replaceable. There are many awaken after all.

'Kill him.' Jasper wrote sneakily with his finger on the table.

Lucian already got the message.